Breaking The Seal
by My-Beautiful-Deformity
Summary: She has found herself between a rock and a hard place. Sakura has to try to withstand the challenges her life is throwing at her. But she doubts herself when she is visited by a man that she wished never existed. Before she could get a grip of the situation she was forced into, her enemies become friends and her home becomes the root of her insecurity.
1. The Seal Is Placed

**This is a bit darker than some of my other fics. But it will not be that way for long. I promise. I love romance, sooo you can always count on me to write in some gooey, sappy, candy-coated mess. I like cute things. But I also like angst and gore. :3 This is another re-write. Enjoy.**

* * *

It had been ten months since the kidnapping of the Kazekage. Everyone had finally settled down a bit in Konaha. Except for one pink haired Medic. She had been recently landed the status of Anbu, and was the second strongest member on her squad. Kakashi being the first. They were given S-ranked mission after S-ranked mission since her initiation five months prior. The pay was tripled, so she hadn't complained much. But the physical toll it took was hard to get used to. The girl was working far more than the rest of her Anbu squad, as she had found herself out on missions without her team frequently. Tsunade had the utmost faith in her former apprentice. And the girl always jumped at the opportunity of a solo mission.

It was only when she had gotten back from a recent mission, that her body began to react with strain. Sensing this, Tsunade had told her that there would be no need for her in the near future. With her stern gaze fixed on the young woman, Sakura had given into her former sensei's pleas to take a break.

That night had also proven that her emotional state was in no better condition. Walking down one of the main streets after her meeting with the Hokage, she had hoped to catch Naruto eating ramen somewhere. It had been a long time since she had seen the boy and she could use his bubbly spirit to lift her own worn one. She did indeed find him. But it was who he was with that made her recoil inside herself and try to remain unseen from the two. It was wishful thinking as the raven haired man turned his head at the familiar presence.

"Sakura." His voice held interest. Something she had never heard before from the man sitting in front of her. At that moment, the cheery ninja also turned towards her, flashing his very toothy grin.

"Sakura-chan! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in forever!" It was only after he finished his statement that the pinkette broke eye contact with the dark haired boy and addressed her enthusiastic friend.

"Missions." She was certain that the strain was so evident in her voice, that even her dimwitted friend had caught it. He frowned at her and pulled her forward to sit next to him.

"Nothing some ramen can't fix! Hey, look at us! Just like the old days, huh." The girls face turned down slightly, but then lifted again in attempt to make her friend less worried. This was nothing like how it used to be. The air about the group was growing increasingly thick. Something that the blonde did not notice.

"Dobe." Naruto chuckled at his old friends words.

"Now it really is like how it used to be." His face contorted in thought as he scratched his chin.

"Well except for the fact that Sakura outranks us both, Sasuke! She's Anbu now." The girl almost choked on her food as she glared at the man.

"That is classified information, Naruto. You're not supposed to discuss it so freely. Especially in public." He backed away slightly at her glare, for fear of getting hit. The man beside him just leaned forward, an intrigued look on his face.

"Really? I'd like to know more about you now, Sakura." He smiled at her. The smile that made her insides feel like they were frozen stiff. And it was not a very pleasant feeling.

* * *

She ran as fast as her feet would carry her back to her tiny apartment. _How could this be? Why is he here?_ He would ruin everything she had been working so hard to achieve. Sakura had finally rebuilt her life. She was over him. But then he had come back. Just that notion in itself was a threat. Enough to tear her apart from the inside out. And the worst part about this whole thing, he had treated her with the utmost respect. No longer ignoring her words or shrugging her off. The interest he had taken in her was too sudden for the young woman to comprehend. She did not know how to address his new forwardness towards her.

Her tears could not be stopped. Somehow it made her feel worse this way. Knowing he had some sort of feelings for her when it took her years to lose her infatuation for him. She looked out her glass balcony window. The quickly dampening sidewalks mirrored her tear stained face. Her forehead rested on the cool glass as she regained stability over her emotions.

"Why me?" Sakura hoped that her oppressive night would not progress. But something inside her told her otherwise. Feeling devastated and worn, the petite woman plopped down on her bed. Her body quickly gave in to the grogginess and sleep swooped in fast.

* * *

A shadowed figure watched all her movements from a nearby rooftop. The rain falling did more to favor in his concealment. It was well over an hour before he made any sign of his presence. The lack of movement within the room over that period of time had insured her slumber. Approaching her balcony with stealth far higher than that of a jounin, he was surprised to find the glass door unlocked.

Such a careless woman he was dealing with. Thinking that being in her own village would secure her safety. Despite her care free security, he wanted to be known to her. He readied himself for her attack as he not too discreetly sat down beside her on the bed. Just as he expected, she had woken up immediately. A kunai was swung in the mans direction but he caught it with ease, countering with his own positioned at her jugular. A gasp was heard as she had taken in his familiar appearance. Getting over the shock, her face hardened. The raw danger of this man was enough to wake her up immediately.

"Sasori. Why are you here?" A cocky smirk sprawled out over his face. It made the girl want to blanch.

"I heard you were looking for me. It seems that my little secret of rebirth was discovered. It's a shame that no one believes you." Her eyes widened a fraction and then hardened on him.

"I had my theories. But you are wrong. I haven't told anyone about my sightings of you. I figured you were making yourself known to me for a reason. Being an S-Class criminal, staying below radar should not be that hard of a task for you."

"Perfect." The way he had said that word, made Sakura shudder. She had wondered how someone could take such a positive word and make it sound so menacing.

"You catch on quickly. I do have some business with you." She gave him a worn smile.

"I'd rather die." He raised his eyebrow slightly as he pressed his kunai against her throat a bit harder, earning a small trickle of blood to escape from the punctured flesh. His eyes darted to it admirably as her head titled back to avoid further damage.

"Your death is not on my schedule just yet. Your obedience however, is. So if you do not do what I say, I will have no choice but to force you. Like it or not, I am not here on behalf of personal business. I come with strict orders from Akatsuki. I was just lucky enough to be graced with the task of informing you."

"Informing me about what? I will never obey you!" It was getting increasingly hard for her to remain calm. But she would suppose anyone with the right mind would act that way if they had just found out Akatsuki wanted them. He leaned in close to her face, his breath cascading across her cheeks. It was in that moment she had realized he was very much alive.

"I have been watching you since my rebirth, Sa-ku-ra. You have been proven to be a liable asset to Akatsuki. But I had already predicted that you would not join on your own free will. So I have perfected a forbidden jutsu, just for you. A special seal that makes the wearer completely bend to the will of the caster. Isn't that fascinating? You will be just like one of my puppets." Her face distorted in horror as she then tried to fight back. But the periodic strain she had put on her body made it almost impossible for her to even push the man away. She then tried to scream. Hopefully someone would come to her aid. But when her eyes looked back at the man holding her firmly to the bed, the hope in her eyes diminished.

"Precautions, Sakura. Precautions. I have long since sound proofed your entire apartment. I came here expecting a fight. A much better one than I am receiving, but I guess I can thank your precious Hokage for wearing you down this much. I do hate prolonging things." His surprisingly warm hand ghosted up the front of her shirt and stopped at her hip. He frowned down at her mockingly.

"You need to take better care of yourself, Sakura. I need you to be alive for this jutsu to work." He grinned at the sour face she had directed towards him. Putting the kunai away, he quickly summoned one of his puppets to hold the fighting girl in place.

"You sicken me!" She spat. It only fueled the mans amusement. But soon after her outburst, he closed his eyes in concentration.

"Now don't worry. This will only hurt a lot." One side of his lips curled up as he made a series of hand signs. He then Bit his right thumb, earning a few small drops of blood to cascade down. With his other hand, he took a kunai out of his pouch once more and dug it into the girls hip where his hand had been previously. It had hurt slightly and she wriggled at the discomfort. Small cuts were nothing to a ninja, but when he had smeared his bloodied thumb over her carved skin, a burning sensation ensued. It started out as slight irritation, but soon escalated into siring pain as her veins felt like they had exploded inside of her. Never before had the girl experienced this much pain. She tried to soothe it with the little amount of chakra she had left, but the pain only increased tenfold.

The man above her was talking. But she found it hard to concentrate on his words over the pain and the sound of screaming. Her screaming, she had deducted. And just as fast as it came, it was gone. Her body shook and sweat drenched her forehead. She felt him stroke her sore flesh over the carving. Trying to catch her breath, she growled. What had he done to her?

"Let's test this, shall we? I won't be here in the morning when you wake up. But don't you worry. I will be back for you soon enough. Now sleep." Her eyes strained to focus but it was futile. And as soon as she had calmed her breathing, she had passed out like he had commanded.


	2. Unexpected Birthday

**There will be a bit of Sasusaku in this chapter. But have no fear! This is still and forever will be a Sasosaku fanfic!**

* * *

Today was the fourth day of her little vacation. And to say she was not enjoying it would be an understatement. All of her days seemed to blur together. So much so that she didn't even know the date. Most of her time was spent cooped up in her too small apartment contemplating when the terror that was her future would begin. She absentmindedly rubbed at the small black scorpion carved into her right hip. It was the cause of all her anguish. She had no idea when the man would come back to her, no doubt to carry out her predetermined course of life.

It was approaching afternoon when she had gotten the message. The pinkette had been called for a meeting with Tsunade. Her mood lightened a bit at the thought of finally being assigned a mission. Sakura ached with anticipation as she all but bolted out her door. Being one of the most skilled medics, her apartment was placed close to the hospital, which was only a few blocks from the Hokage tower.

Not once did she stop her fast pace, even when the Uchiha and his team were spotted out of her peripheral vision. It caught her slightly off guard, however. She had known that he was back, but his team was another story. She would have to bring it up to lady Tsunade in their meeting. Her sudden surprised state had made her disregard the flash of orange and black that had jumped in her way. Fortunately, she had stopped dead before she collided with the person. Naruto stood in front of her, giving her a daft grin. All she could do was stare at him impatiently.

"Happy Birthday!" He held out a white box with yellow ribbon tied around it neatly. No doubt the work of Hinata. She looked from the present to him with confusion.

"It's not my birthday. Is it?" Instantly, a saddened look adorned his face. Something very uncommon for his character. It made the girl highly uncomfortable.

"It's March 28th Sakura." She went wide eyed. How could she forget her own birthday? Looking down at the present, she took it with shaking hands.

"T-thank you, Naruto. I'll open it later. I have a meeting to attend with the Hokage right now. I'm sorry I have been so busy lately." She smiled at him and his cheery demeanor returned.

"That's okay. But you should come to the barbeque grill down town later. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Ino is throwing you a party. It will let her down if you don't come. She's going through great lengths to get everyone together for this. I also heard Gaara is here somewhere! I'm gonna go harass him until he agrees to come." The serious undertone to his words made it hard to refuse. So she nodded.

"Alright Naruto. I'll be there. When did you become so calm? I guess Hinata is keeping you in line nowadays." He blushed slightly at her comment but then returned to his usually bright self. They parted ways shortly after that.

* * *

Upon entering the Hokage office, she was graced in a big unexpected hug. Maintaining her stamina, she looked at the owner of the arms. Temari stared down at her with a big grin that could rival Naruto's. After the Akatsuki attack on Suna, the young medic had gotten close to the three sand siblings. Temari was especially grateful to her for saving Kankuro and also helping in the rescue of Gaara. As soon as she let go, Sakura lightly bowed.

"Kazekage-sama. Shishou." He held up his hand at her, palm facing outward. A gesture she knew all to well with their previous meetings. He disapproved of the title she used for him. They had talked several times about how he was in her debt. In his eyes, she was considered equal to him. But she still refused. She smiled at his irritation and decided to further his displeasure.

"Naruto is looking for you. He said he wants to hound you into going to a party tonight." He rubbed his thumb and pointer finger over his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Don't give him too much trouble. It's my birthday party. But I'm not supposed to know that." She looked at the ground sheepishly, still troubled at the fact of forgetting her own birthday. Kankuro slung his arm around her neck in a mock headlock.

"Happy birthday." She grumbled a thank you and pinched his arm, making him release her immediately. Rubbing at the sore flesh, he stuck his tongue out at her in a child like manor. Their antics cut short as Tsunade cleared her throat. All eyes quickly faced her.

"Sakura. There has been a recent string of poisoned shinobi found on the outskirts of our town. You are to go to the hospital and immediately take care of this. But do not feel obligated to report to me until tomorrow. I am well aware of what today is and I expect to see you at this party. Eight o'clock sharp. Do I make myself clear?" Her Shishou gave her a snide grin. One in which Sakura only responded with a nod of her head. It wasn't the mission she was expecting. But any use of her abilities seemed to calm her body slightly.

* * *

This was not happening. Not only were these Ninja poisoned. She knew exactly how and by whom within minutes of walking into the infirmary. But knowing how to extract this poison took some of the tension from her. This was a warning. Five shinobi. None of which she knew personally. There had to be a message here. He was toying with her. A slight burning was felt in her side at the thought of the man. This was defiantly the work of Sasori.

It did not take her long to extract most of the poison from all five men. And it took less time to conjure up an antidote to exterminate the traces left behind. When she had finished administering the antidote to the last male, her resolve started to slowly crumble. The pieces were all connecting in her head. _Five_ men. _Fifth_ night. He was coming for her tomorrow. She just knew it.

Thank goodness her apartment was right down the road. As soon as she had entered it, her whole body shook and her eyes swelled with tears that were feverishly blinked back. Her whole village would think her a traitor. But honestly, she would prefer they did over the alternative. They would all search for her desperately. The Akatsuki would take lives. But then another thought came to her. This was the last night she would be able to spend with her friends. She had a chance to make it count. To progress further and have one more happy memory before her life was ripped apart. With that determination, she stood tall once again. It was almost seven pm. She was told to be at the grill by eight. She could do this.

Sakura decided to dress semi casual but still semi formal for tonight. A teal lacy dress shirt, accompanied with a matching undershirt, and a pair of white shorts. Ino had picked the outfit out for her several months ago. Saying that if she wore it right, she could get any man that looked her way. Of coarse she could. The neckline dipped a bit too low to be considered appropriate and the shorts showed off way too much leg for comfort. She felt a little too glamorous in this. But putting that thought aside, she brushed her hair. It had grown quite long recently, reaching slightly past her shoulders. Her bangs could now be brushed off to one side. Sakura was surprised to find that she had no intention to trim it up again.

Looking over at her bed, she had spotted Naruto's present box. Opening it up quickly, she had found a note that read: _I wanted to get you ramen. But Hinata made me get you this instead. Don't tell her, but I stuck some ramen coupons inside. _She looked down at the box. Inside sat a pair of red leather fingerless gloves. A wide genuine smile graced her face. They were perfect. She set them on her stand after removing the silly coupons and threw the box away.

As soon as the petite girl had slipped on a pair of comfortable black flats, she had jumped as someone knocked at her door. Getting a hold of herself, she sighed and made her way to the living room to open it. On the other side of the door, she was surprised to find Sai. He was smiling his bright fake smile at her.

"I have come to take you do dinner tonight. Considering on how you are dressed, I would assume that dickless has already given away the secret. No matter, lets be on our way." Fortunately for her that the grill wasn't that long of a walk either.

* * *

Sakura couldn't even recognize the inside of the restaurant. Ino had outdone herself on decorating. There was a space cleared of its normal tables where people had gathered to dance. She made a note to avoid it, not being that keen on dancing. Sakura was thankful that the music was not being played as loud as it would be in any club. It made it easier to converse without shouting. The blonde girl didn't take long to find her in the slightly heavy crowd.

"Sakura! Happy birthday!" The enthusiastic girl handed her a small box and told her to open it. She did as directed, finding an anklet inside. The small piece of jewelry was white and had one red bead woven into it. Ino then pointed to her ankle to show the twin anklet only with a blue bead instead.

"I know it's corny. But I picked them up in the land of earth on my way back from a mission. It's supposed to bring love. Mine is supposed to bring happiness. I thought since it can easily be concealed behind your boots, it would be easier to wear on missions."

"No. It's perfect Ino. I really do love it." She bent down and tied the small ankle bracelet around her right ankle. When she straightened again, her friends face turned serious.

"I know you have been pushing yourself lately and you have been down the past few days. With Sasuke being back and all. But I just thought, this bracelet would give you something to believe in when things start to get rough." Sakura nodded at her friend. If only she knew. A pang of guilt welled up inside the pinkette's chest.

"Thanks Ino. You're a really good friend." Said girl laughed lightly, her joyous side returning.

"I know." She grinned and gave the girl a wink, then retreated to socialize.

* * *

Sakura found herself near the corner. She scanned the room with a bittersweet smile. All of her friends, and even some people she didn't know, had expressed their birthday wishes towards her within the first few hours of the party. Since then, the cake was long devoured and a good portion of the occupants of the room were dancing. She was happy just admiring them all having fun but at the same time saddened that this would most likely be her last memory with them.

A hand outstretched in front of her line of vision, holding a drink. She took it cautiously and looked up at the culprit. He gave her the best grin he could and nodded. She slowly sipped on the beverage, trying to avoid unease.

"I'm not going to hurt you Sakura. You can relax." She looked at him with a bit of shock in her gaze. The thought of him hurting her had not crossed her mind.

"I know that. It wasn't at all what I was thinking."

"Then what were you thinking?" Her mouth fell slack for a second at his sudden questioning. Then she looked down at her cup.

"It's just a bit odd. To come home finding your former…teammate has returned. Especially when you thought he would never come back. Alive that is. I never expected our next encounter to be a pleasant one. I thought it would most certainly end in a life being taken." She looked back up to find him staring at her. Calculating her every word.

"I see. To be honest, I was also expecting that. But after I killed Orochimaru, I felt less anger. Towards everything. When I crossed paths with Naruto some time after, I had agreed to come back with him without a fight. He was just as surprised as I. And on the way back I had come to terms with being punished for my actions. But nothing ever happened outside of heavy observation for a while. I feel like Naruto had something to do with it." She smiled lightly.

"Most likely." She agreed. He placed his hand on her shoulder lightly and immediately the burning sensation on her hip returned. It was more intense this time, causing her to flinch back and place her hand over it. Sasuke's brow furrowed and he removed his hand.

"Are you alright?" She nodded slightly as the pain retreated when he drew back his hand.

"Just a slight side pain. Must have pulled a muscle or something. Maybe I should head home. I'm getting a bit tired." He nodded at her.

"I'll walk you." She wanted to protest. But he had already taken her arm lightly and headed towards the door. It would be a useless confrontation if she refused him to do so, she concluded. So Sakura let him lightly lead her outside and down the street. Only when they were a block away did he let her arm go. It was silent for a bit, until his low voice reached her ears.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." She looked at him with light confusion.

"You are the one person, besides Naruto, that I owe the sincerest apology to for my actions. Mostly for the way I left you." A soft _oh_ escaped her lips fallowed by a long pause.

"I've long since forgiven you, Sasuke." He looked slightly relieved at her words. Several minutes of comfortable silence passed. It was only when she realized that he was beginning to drift closer to her while walking that her unease came back slightly. He hadn't seemed to notice, or let on that he was doing it intentionally, so she chalked it up to be harmless uneven walking. More time passed in silence. The air was growing a bit more heavy between the two. But soon enough she was at her residence. She turned to him.

"Thank you for walking me home." He looked down at her and nodded. She turned to walk up the steps to her front door when he grabbed her hand and spun her back around quickly.

"Happy birthday." And just as he ended his statement, he firmly placed his lips upon hers. She was dumbfounded for a moment. When her mind processed what was happening, she brought her hands up to his chest and started pushing on it. He locked one of his arms around her waist and the adjacent hand pushed the back of her head towards him. She gasped out as best as she could and tired pushing him away harder. He only tightened his grasp around her. This was all wrong. She didn't feel anything from this kiss. She hadn't even want it.

He bit down on her bottom lip roughly, causing her to whimper. He groaned at the sound and plunged his tongue into her mouth forcibly. Sakura needed to stop this. Now. Removing her hand from his chest she brought it up and landed a hard slap to his most exposed cheek. The man holding her let her go and pulled back with slight shock. Her fingers found their way to her now swollen lips as she blinked back tears for the second time today. Sasuke's face showed disapprobation.

"I thought you wanted this. I thought you wanted _me_. Why are you acting like this is such a horribly big deal all of a sudden?! I've come back to start my life with you! To revive the Uchiha clan! And you are refusing me?" She shook her head furiously, her own aggravation growing.

"No. I don't want any part of this. I moved on, Sasuke. I've accepted a future that doesn't involve you being a part of it. I wasn't expecting for you to return. Things are different now. I don't feel anything for you anymore apart from a slight bond that every teammate shares. And if that can be so, then I question how strong my love for you was before. I don't even think it was love. Just infatuation. You were something I couldn't have but desperately wanted. But after a while, the fight just got old." He seethed with anger at her. Sensing his rising fury, she turned and ran up the steps to her apartment door. She didn't want to fight him.

Sakura quickly bolted inside as he fallowed her. Her feet led her to her bathroom, where she quickly shut and locked the door behind her. It wasn't a shock when the door had been knocked off its hinges with ease. A piece of wood was nothing to a skilled ninja. What did throw the girl off guard is when Sasuke gripped her upper arms tightly and harshly threw her against the bathroom wall. Why was he acting so irrationally? Especially after just apologizing to her. And then his words from earlier clicked. _I've come back to start my life with you! To revive the Uchiha clan! _The words rang through her head and she gasped out loud.

"It was all a lie. You had planned this the whole time! You knew you were going to run into Naruto! You knew he would talk you out of getting a punishment. You're here for me. To revive your stupid clan!" He gripped her tighter as he grinned down at her.

"You were always so smart, Sakura. I must say though. I wasn't anticipating a refusal out of you. It threw me for a loop. That's okay though. There are other ways to make this work out the way I want it to." Her eyes went wide.

"But unfortunately for you Uchiha, she already belongs to someone else." She didn't know if she had been relieved at the new voice or terrified. Sasuke was flung backwards before he could process the new presence in the room. But he quickly stood and shook off his daze. They both turned to the doorway of the bathroom. Sakura's face paled slightly. Leaning against the small door frame, adorned in his Akatsuki cloak, was Akasuna no Sasori.

"Akatsuki." Sasuke fumed. Sasori ignored him and looked towards Sakura. He scanned over her apparel slowly then returned his gaze upon her face to lock eyes with her. It made her breath catch in her throat and her face hold a pink hue of embarrassment.

"I have returned to take you back to Akatsuki. I presume you have gotten my message?" Sakura nodded numbly at him.

"I…I thought you were coming tomorrow." She choked out.

"It is past midnight, Sakura. Technically it is the tomorrow you are referring to. Go pack your things while I take care of this mess. And change into your ninja attire. It is more...appropriate...for fast travel." The burning in her hip was back and she found her body moving on its own accord. Curse this jutsu.

* * *

**Sorry for the slight cliffhanger. I'm really tired. Haha. I will try to update as soon as I can. I'm just going to post this now. :3 Love you all. There might be some slight fluff in the next chapter. Not sure though. Hehe. **

**And remember: The more reviews, the faster I will upload.**


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